How To Pick The Right Marketing Strategy For Your Business

Does an effective marketing strategy make all the difference in achieving success when it comes to your business? In today’s modern marketing world, we’d be inclined to say yes. 

Businesses and consumers are constantly online and on the go, looking for quick and easy ways to find whatever they need. And with this, we have had a huge open door to a multitude of marketing options. Here’s to name a few:

• Content marketing
• Paid advertising
• Email marketing 
• Video marketing
• …even word of mouth from referrals is a marketing strategy!

Whilst having so many different avenues for marketing is great, finding the right strategy to use to gain optimal results can be a daunting task to conquer. I mean, where do you start?

Well, we have some good news for you – we’re here to help give you that starting point. So, grab your notepad and let’s deep dive into our step-by-step guide to find the right marketing strategy for you.

How To Find The Right Marketing Strategy…

Step 1: Define Your Business Objectives

Before diving headfirst into the vast ocean of marketing strategies, this is a crucial step to follow. 

What do you aim to achieve? Is it increased brand awareness, higher sales, or expanding into new markets? What type of platform are you looking to grow on, and where do you find the most attraction from your audience? Take the time to answer these questions as it will lay the foundation for choosing the right marketing strategy.

Step 2: Understand Your Target Audience

The important question: who are your target audience?

Now, we know this seems obvious. And we know what you’re thinking. Of course we know our target audience, we sell and/or provide services to them every day. We know what they want. But what if I told you that according to a recent annual survey by HubSpot across 1,200 businesses only 42% know the basic demographic information of their target audience, like their name, gender, and location. This means that 42% of businesses are missing out on critical information about what their audience really care about to help their marketing strategy. 

So, Step 2 is to see if your buyer personas need a revamp. Ensure they represent your ideal customers, considering demographics, interests, hobbies, social values, pain points, and behaviour patterns. Likewise, use your market research to gather customer feedback and analyse data to gain insights into who your target audience really is. Then, you can tailor your marketing strategy to their needs, preferences, and channels of communication.

Step 3: Evaluate Your Resources

Whilst our dreams might be limitless, resources often have boundaries. So, it’s important to consider the marketing channels and strategies that fit not only your audience but also your budget and time. For example, if you have the funds to invest in a marketing agency then this could help a lot with time capacity, or if you don’t have the budget to invest in an agency then there are a lot of free ways to market. The main thing is to think of what path will cause you the least resistance. 

Step 4: Explore Different Marketing Channels

Now, by this point you’ll have a good idea of what the aims of your marketing strategy are, who your audience are, and the flexibility of your resources. Great!

So, now is the time to test our marketing channels. However, it’s important to say that there’s no one-size-fits-all marketing strategy, and different channels have varying results depending on your industry and target audience.  We suggest exploring free trials on various marketing channels such as social media, content marketing, email marketing, marketing schedulers, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, influencer marketing, and traditional advertising (posters, word of mouth, etc). 

Then, make a note at the end of the free trial any benefits or cons you noticed through using that strategy. This will help you gain great insight into where your audience reacts best to your services.

Step 5: Experiment, Measure, and Refine Your Marketing Strategy

Once you have selected a marketing strategy or combination of strategies, it’s time to put them into action. Implement your plan, but remember that marketing is an iterative process. A great way to monitor the performance of your campaigns is using key performance indicators (KPIs) relevant to your goals. There are many useful softwares you can use to check this, however we preferably use Monday.com. By analysing the data over a period of time (e.g., weekly, monthly, quarterly) you will, identify what works and what doesn’t, and make adjustments accordingly.